Selling ‘Anchorman 2’

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Will Ferrell, in character as Anchorman 2's Ron Burgundy, hugs Emerson Dean Phil Glenn during a news conference to rename Emerson College School of Communication as the Ron Burgundy School of Communication.

FILE - This 2004 file photo originally released by Paramount Pictures shows Will Ferrell as anchorman Ron Burgundy in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." Emerson College is changing the name of its school of communication. The college in Boston will rename the school for one day only, the Ron Burgundy School of Communication on Dec. 4 to honor the fictitious television anchorman. Ferrell, in character, is scheduled to share his path to journalism greatness with students. His visit will include a news conference, the renaming ceremony and a screening of “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” Ferrell, as himself, will introduce the movie. The sequel opens nationwide on Dec. 20. (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, Frank Masi)

HERE, THERE, EVERYWHERE: Actor Will Ferrell is criss-crossing the continent as over-the-top TV news anchor Ron Burgundy including at Emerson College yesterday.

Will Ferrell speaks in character as Anchorman 2's Ron Burgundy during a news conference to rename Emerson College School of Communication as the Ron Burgundy School of Communication.

Will Ferrell speaks in character as Anchorman 2's Ron Burgundy during a news conference to rename Emerson College School of Communication as the Ron Burgundy School of Communication.

Will Ferrell speaks in character as Anchorman 2's Ron Burgundy during a news conference to rename Emerson College School of Communication as the Ron Burgundy School of Communication.

Will Ferrell speaks in character as Anchorman 2's Ron Burgundy during a news conference to rename Emerson College School of Communication as the Ron Burgundy School of Communication.

Will Ferrell, in character as Anchorman 2's Ron Burgundy, waves to the audience following a news conference to rename Emerson College School of Communication as the Ron Burgundy School of Communication.

Will Ferrell, in character as Anchorman 2's Ron Burgundy, accepts a plaque from Emerson President Lee Pelton, left, student Muna Mousihan, and Dean Phil Glenn during a news conference to rename Emerson College School of Communication as the Ron Burgundy School of Communication.

Will Ferrell, in character as Anchorman 2's Ron Burgundy, tries to take an oath during a news conference to rename Emerson College School of Communication as the Ron Burgundy School of Communication.

(Boston, MA - 12/4/13) NECN reporter Jackie Bruno reacts as Will Ferrell, in character as Anchorman 2's Ron Burgundy, autographs a t-shirt during a news conference to rename Emerson College School of Communication as the Ron Burgundy School of Communication, Wednesday, December 04, 2013. Staff photo by Angela Rowlings.

Will Ferrell’s visit to Emerson College as TV newsman Ron Burgundy — the latest in his tour of quirky in-character appearances to sell the “Anchorman” sequel — is a “brilliant” marketing strategy, industry insiders say, that could set a new standard for movie promotion if it pays off at the box office.

“It is quite an amazing campaign,” said John Verret, a Boston University advertising professor and former ad executive.

Paramount Pictures launched the PR blitz last year, well ahead of the release later this month of “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,” and Ferrell as Ron Burgundy has been everywhere, most recently at Emerson College yesterday when its communication school was renamed for one day the Ron Burgundy School of Communication.

Lara Koslow, an L.A.-based partner at the Boston Consulting Group, said she thinks the concept has legs, and doesn’t foresee it leading to Burgundy fatigue.

“I think he’s a bold, funny, over-the-top character and therefore the campaign has a little more license to be bold, funny and over the top and maybe a bit more frequent,” Koslow said.

You can hardly miss the “Anchorman” buzz as Burgundy also has:

• anchored a local newscast in Bismark, N.D.;

• appeared at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials;

• paired with Jockey for a line of underwear; and

• appeared in a series of ads for Dodge Durango that have gone viral.

“With so many ways to reach the public these days you have to be original, unique and completely out of the box,” said Jessica Nelson, head of public relations for the entertainment division of Texas-based The Marketing Arm.

Verret said if the movie rakes in big bucks, others could try to replicate the fictional-character-in-the-real-world concept.

“If there are people in the movie business who thought they could pull it off and this does work, then I think you are going to see lots of attempts to do it,” Verret said.

But pulling off the same kind of campaign could be difficult because Ferrell’s talent and the way the character fits into the real world makes it work, said David Gerzof Richard, an Emerson marketing professor and president of BIGfish Communications.

“You need to have a willing participant,” Gerzof Richard said. “He was dead on, the way he responded in character and in a way that made everybody laugh.”

Some have criticized Emerson’s participation in the PR stunt as inappropriate, a notion both the school and Gerzof Richard rejected.